Gone - Prelude
by TheYugen
Summary: Upon returning from a short mission, Remy finds out the love of his life has departed from the X-Men. This is a prelude to a series of stories for the Rogue and Gambit arc.


**I guess I should also say that I don't own the characters. **

**This is my first story, so feedback is welcomed. This is supposed to be the prelude to several stories in this arc involving Gambit and Rogue. **

**Also…I suck at accents. **

Gone – The Prelude

He sat silently in the dark, empty room that once belonged to Rogue. He closed his eyes as he reminisced about the warm colors that used to fill it. He remembered the whimsical lights that gave the appearance of flickering fireflies and how they used to be draped around her headboard, offering the perfect ambient light. How the warm scent of her perfume filled the air. Next to her dresser used to be a wall decorated with her favorite pictures of the team, people she had grown to call family. She had quite a few of the two of them together. In one photo, someone had managed to capture the two during a private moment where both laughed at a secret only the two of them knew about. Another photo captured Remy telling a story to an audience that consisted of Jean and Logan, both of who had expressions of amusement on their faces. Rogue stood to his side, looking at him with doting eyes. The memory captured in the last picture of them gutted him the most. The photo was taken by a fellow student when Remy was relatively new to the X-Men, Rogue was 19, and Remy going on 21. The dated picture had a warm hue to it. Facing the photographer was Rogue, in her slightly thinner frame, as she sat atop a white fence, bracing the wood at her sides for balance. She wore just a tank top, jean shorts, and worn chucks for shoes. She was dressed in less clothing, or at least less compared to her usual ensemble. They were experiencing a nasty heatwave that year, and that day had been unusually hot. She'd wandered off to a secluded area to not risk accidently touching anyone. That's where he found her. She had a smile on her face that was both shy and insecure as she looked to her left towards the source standing two feet away. On the opposite side of the fence facing the camera was a young and handsome man leaning casually forward on the fence in front of him, smiling too. Remy. The photo captured innocence in a time when everything seemed simple and untainted. They were young and on the cusp of falling hard for each other. Neither of them had any idea just how deep their love would grow. It was the beginning of their history. The memory put a smile on his face. How he wished he could go back to that moment, if even for a few seconds. His heart panged at the nostalgic thought. He opened his eyes, and his beloved scene disappeared. What greeted him instead was a cold, empty room.

It had been three months since she had left the X-Men for good, and yet, the emptiness she left in her wake was still as fresh as the day it happened. The emptiness, hurt, and anger still consumed him. He and Rogue had a tumultuous relationship since both joined the X-Men all those years ago, fifteen to be exact. When they fought, it was bad. But when there was a calm between the storms, it was pure bliss. Now, he had to come to terms with the fact she wouldn't be there to greet him at the end of a long day, or hold each other like they did so many sleepless nights while talking about everything under the moon and stars. There was a gaping hole where she once was, not only in Remy's life, but the X-Men as well. Her good-humored sass in morning meetings that were no longer heard, the unruly fits of laughter at inappropriate times, and just someone to talk to whenever someone needed it, now replaced by a void. He vividly recalled the day he found out she was gone.

~ Flashback Begins ~

He and Logan had just returned from a four-day recon mission in Canada. Days before leaving, he and Rogue had broken up. The way he departed and the words that were left unsaid hadn't sat well with him for the duration of the mission. All he wanted to do was return so he could talk it through with her. What he didn't know then was the day prior to him and Logan leaving would be the last time he'd see her at the School for Gifted Youngsters. For Rogue, it would be the last time she would see Remy, and it would be with another woman in his bed. Remy knew Logan could tell it had gone south between them but knew nothing of the details. Logan subtlety tried to engage in conversation, but Remy insisted on keeping it professional and kept focused on mission. Upon Logan pulling into the garage of Xaiver's Institute, Remy hopped out of the passenger seat, grabbed his bag from the back, and headed towards his room.

"Sorry, mon ami. I'll help unload in da morning. I've jus' gotta take care of some 'tings." By taking care of, he meant he had to find Rogue.

"Sure thing, bub," responded Logan from the driver's seat. The keys were in his hands as they rested on his lap. He watched the Cajun's hurried pace, eyeing him with compassion instead of replying with the usual ill-mannered remarks.

After a fast shower and throwing on clean sweats and a long sleeve shirt, Remy made his way to the hall that housed the senior X-women. He stepped in front of the second to last door on the left and knocked. It was Rogue's bedroom, and there was no answer.

"Chere, please open up. Can we talk?" Remy said in a low but audible volume as he stood there, hands on his hips, waiting for a reply. He listened intently for signs of shuffling inside the room. Nothing. "Rogue?" he repeated with another succession of three knocks.

"Gambit?" Remy looked over his left shoulder and saw the German teammate who had referred to him by codename. He was walking with Logan who was on his way back to his room.

"I'll catch you later, man" Logan said to Kurt and continued to his room. Kurt had a look of concern on his face as he approached Remy. "Hello mein freund."

"Kurt," Remy responded, now also showing a look of apprehension.

"I take it you haven't heard ze news, I am sorry to be ze one to tell you, brother." Confusion came over Remy.

"What happen, Kurt?" Remy asked as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Well, I'll juz come out with it." Kurt knew how much his sister meant to the man that stood before him. She made Kurt promise that he'd keep an eye on him as best he could after she left, and knowing the Cajun, it was a tall order. Kurt considered Remy almost a brother; his relationship with Rogue only solidified the sentiment. He reached out a hand and placed it on Remy's shoulder. "Rogue left ze X-Men yesterday. Im sorry." Remy stood there, trying to compute what he had just heard. None of it made sense. He replied by giving a smirk and a snicker under his breath as if it was a cruel joke.

"What are ya talkin' about, homme?" Remy reached for Rogue's bedroom doorknob. To his surprise, it was unlocked. After turning the knob and a slight pause, he gave the door a gentle nudge, and then proceeded to open it completely. His heart felt as if it had stopped beating, and all the air sucked from out from his lungs. Her room had been cleared out of all personal belongings. Everything had been wiped clean and dusted, and the carpet vacuumed. The smell of cleaning products replaced the scent of her perfume, shampoo, and lotions. What remained was a vacant bed stripped of its linen, an empty nightstand, and a bare clothing chest. The sheer white curtain adorning the window whimsically danced from the gentle breeze that made its way into the room. Bending over, Remy placed his hands above his knees as he shouldered his weight. "Why?" he questioned in a voice hardly louder than a whisper.

"She needed to figure it out on her own." Remy knew he was referring to her powers. But part of him couldn't help but think that it was him that had pushed her to make the decision. That he forced her to her breaking point. Kurt knew there wasn't anything more he could say to Remy, and that it was best to leave the man be. After apologizing once more, Kurt left Remy.

He sat on her bed for what seemed like eternity. He felt hollow. Squeezing his eyes shut as if he was trying to wake himself from a bad dream, he decided to finally head back to his room. Taking one last look around, he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Upon returning to his room, Remy went straight for the stash of Bourbon he kept in his nightstand and took a swig… or four. Just as he was lowering his bottle, he noticed an envelope addressed to him sitting on his pillow. He grabbed it immediately, knowing it was from Rogue. He always admired her penmanship and would know it anywhere. He sat on his bed and stared at his name that was so elegantly written.

He opened the letter and started to read. He could hear her voice.

_Remy,_

_I don't know what I can say except I'm am truly sorry for leaving the way I did, without saying goodbye. I wouldn't be able to leave if it meant saying it to your face, and for that I'm a coward. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me and understand why I had to leave. The sessions with the Professor and Jean haven't made a difference in all the years I've been here, bless them for trying. I try to not let it bother me, but there's just no getting around it. I think it's time to face the music. I have to go on this path alone and figure it out for myself. I don't even know if it'll ever happen, but I have to try. The following words are the most difficult ones I'll ever say, because I mean it whole heartedly. Please move on. You deserve to be happy with someone who can give you what you desire. Take care of yourself, Remy. _

_Yours Always,_

_Rogue xoxo_

_PS. My decision to leave had nothing to do with that night. One foot was already out the door. _

Remy closed his eyes and let his head hang back. There it was. So much emotion surging through his body, yet a single thought occupied his mind. _Dieu. She was there. _The liquor was starting to hit his bloodstream. He let it carry his emotions throughout his body; whirling every which way it went.

After what seemed like minutes later, a light knock on the door pulled him from his reeling state. "So she's really gone, huh?" asked a burly voice in a surprisingly soft manner. Logan stood leaning in the entrance of the room with a glass of whiskey. Remy had forgotten to shut the door in his dash for the Bourbon. Remy leaned forward shifting his weight to his elbows which came to rest on his knees. He let the letter fall between his legs, and without looking at Logan, gave confirmation with a single nod. Logan entered and took a seat in the chair that sat to Remy's nine o'clock position, mimicking Remy's position as he held the glass of Whiskey between his legs.

"She say when she was coming back?" He asked. Although, Logan already knew she had no plans on doing so. Remy gave no reply other than the slight pucker of his lips and a shake of his head slightly towards the right to signify _no. _

~ Flashback Ends ~

It was quiet. Remy shook his head, acknowledgement that coming to her room was a bad idea. He got up and left as quietly as he came.


End file.
